


i've never fallen from quite this high (falling into your ocean eyes)

by mushroombiome



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Driving, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Slice of Life, Smoking, just late night college things (with feelings)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7077679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mushroombiome/pseuds/mushroombiome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sophomore year. Night drives, fast-food joints, kisses off the coast of the Massachusetts Bay. Just two college boys falling in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i've never fallen from quite this high (falling into your ocean eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> this isn't beta'd, pardon for all the mistakes.
> 
> Nursey's night driving playlist:  
> Drive - Oh Wonder  
> Ocean Eyes - Billie Eilish (Astronomyy Remix)  
> Die Trying - Michl  
> Tell Me It's Okay - gnash  
> Warm On A Cold Night - HONNE

"Hey.”

If it wasn’t for his music at low volume, Will wouldn’t have heard tentative voice from behind him. Actually, if he weren’t so focused on the silence around him, he probably wouldn’t have heard the voice at all. He looks up from his homework and turns around to see Derek leaning against the doorway. He looks tired but probably not as tired as Will; his brain is spent from all the stress and homework problems and notes for the final.

“Hey,” Will replies.

“I’m going to the beach. Wanna come with?”

He frowns. “Nursey, it’s midnight.”

“The beach is nice and peaceful at night. I’m just heading out to Boston near the bay.” Derek shrugs. “The drive isn’t that long, especially since it’s in the middle of the night and there’s no traffic. I just thought you’d wanna come with me, y’know. You’ve been cooped up in here studying for finals and I thought it’d be nice to clear your mind. We can even get some fast food. That is, if you want to.”

Will smiles and rolls his eyes at Derek’s rambling. “Yeah, sure. I would love to. I mean, why not, y’know?”

Derek’s car is a Volkswagen Jetta, a car just right for a college kid. It’s a bit messy, with receipts and fast food paper bags scattered throughout the floor and a bong casually lying on the backseat, but Will doesn’t mind. It fits Derek Nurse perfectly.

The car starts and Derek connects his phone to the auxiliary cord and starts playing a Spotify playlist. This music is different than what Will expects of Derek and his hipster reputation. It sounds more like the type of chill music that Whiskey listens to. But again, Will doesn’t mind. The beat and the rhythm of the music fit perfectly with night driving; it puts him in a trance that makes him forget about all the stress that’s been clawing away at his brain.

Plus, it’s not often that Will gets to drive up to Boston. It’s about a twenty minute drive away and not really relevant to him since he didn’t bring his car down. He has no reason to be driving anywhere outside of campus himself; he can have other people drive himself. But seeing the city at this hour is almost a breathtaking sight in itself, in the middle of the night the city is still awake, but barely. Few cars sprinkle the freeway and the lights of the Boston skyline sparkle in the horizon. It’s like the actual city is theirs exclusively, even for just one night.

* * *

After about twenty minutes and a few directions from Google maps, Derek parks at the end of a road that’s facing the beach and the ocean. They head out and sit on the warm hood of the car staring out into the ocean, barely visible and blending into the night sky from the darkness. Will doesn’t think about how Derek’s arm rests nonchalantly behind him and how his leg is flush up against his.

Will breathes in and the saltwater reminds him of home.

“I like the ocean,” he says suddenly. “I kinda grew up with it, with working at my dad’s boat and all. It’s nice coming back once in a while.”

“You should take me some day,” Derek replies. “I mean, I’m in New York and you’re in Maine so it’s not too long of a drive.”

“Yeah. I mean, if your parents are _chill_ with it.”

Derek laughs, his shoulder bumping against Will’s. Despite the cold breeze, his cheeks burn.

“Chill,” Derek mumbles. “Honestly, sometimes I think they’re too chill.”

Will doesn’t really know what to say to that; there’s a small hint in his voice that makes Will believe that something isn’t right. Maybe it’s some sort of family problem that Derek has. But he has no right to meddle.

Instead, Will replies, “Yeah. My parents know a lot about you, surprisingly. Always asking when you’re gonna stop by and visit. Honestly, I’m convinced they’re ready to take you in as the fifth child of the family.”

That elicits a chuckle from Derek. “I wouldn’t be opposed to that, actually.”

Will raises his eyebrow at that reply, but decides not to press further. After a few minutes of silence pass, he feels a slight shuffling from next to him and finds that Derek had pulled out a pack of American Spirits from his pocket and is pulling out a cigarette.

When the box is tiled his way, Will takes one without second thought.

“You smoke?” Derek asks in slight surprise as he and Will lean close to share the fire from the lighter.

“Not often. I try not to.”

“What is it about this time?” Derek leans back to lay on the car hoodie and Will follows suit so they’re lying next to each other.

“Finals. I’m stressed as fuck. You actually caught me at a good time because I honest-to-god thought that my brain was gonna literally shut down.”

Derek turns his head, prompting Will to turn his and meet his eyes. He doesn’t realize how close proximity they are; their noses are mere inches from each other.

“Dude,” he says. “You don’t need to stress yourself out like that.”

“I know,” Will takes a long drag of his cigarette before continuing turning his head towards the sky so as not to blow cigarette smoke in Derek’s face. “I’m just not doing well in one of my classes and I can’t really afford bad grades. Y’know, with the scholarship and the whole thing with my family.”

Derek doesn’t say anything. Instead, he shuffles over and wraps his arms around Will’s shoulder. Will, in return, presses up against Derek and he rests his head on his shoulder.

This isn’t the first night Will has indulged in Derek with late night conversations. Usually, they’re on the Haus rooftop on a Saturday afternoon. He knows about Will’s situation: the first in the family to go to college on a scholarship the one to set an example for his younger siblings, the one carrying a lot of the weight in his family. It’s a lot of pressure on Will, even though Derek knows that he’s being unconditionally loved by his family.

They finish their cigarettes and they lay cuddling for a few more moments, basking in the fuzz from the nicotine. There aren’t many stars in the sky because they’re so close to the city so Will finds himself burying his face in the crook of Derek’s neck, breathing him and the ocean air in. Derek, on the other hand, runs fingers run through his hair, occasionally going down to trace little constellations on his freckles that should be up in the night sky. Will sighs, letting himself focus on the calloused fingertips exploring his body and the sound of the ocean waves crashing onto the shore almost as a greeting.

He doesn’t remember closing his eyes.

* * *

“Yo. Dex. Wake up.”

“Huh?”

He feels hands gently shaking him awake.

“Let’s head back,” Derek says.

“Did I fall asleep?”

“Yeah. But for, like, five minutes.”

Will sits up and stretches. He catches a whiff of fresh cigarette and comes to the conclusion that Derek must’ve pulled out another cigarette while Will was sleeping.

Before they could move towards the car door, Will grabs Derek’s hand and, in an act of bravery only meant for this ungodly hour in the night, pulls him in for a kiss.

It’s a small, tentative, chaste kiss: dry lips against dry lips. But Derek sighs and deepens the kiss and they’re both falling. They probably both taste like cigarettes but all Will can feel is the ocean air and rough hands on his neck, his fingers pressing against his pulse point, beating rapidly like a drum.

All he can feel is comfort.

After a brief moment, Derek pulls back, leaning his forehead against Will’s. They both smile at each other before pulling away and heading back into the Volkswagen.

“Before we head back,” Derek says, hopping into the driver’s seat. “Wanna go to McDonald’s?”

“I forgot my wallet.”

“Let me pay for you.”

“You’re gonna pay for me? Is this a date?”

“Would you be opposed to it if it’s not?”

“Not really. I’d, uh, actually be okay with it. Like, really okay.”

“Well, you’re still Venmoing me later.”

Will chuckles, punching Derek in the arm. “Dumbass.”

He just gets an innocent chirp-disguised-as-a-kiss on the cheek in reply.

Will and Derek end up at the McDonald’s just a block from Samwell’s Frat Row. They aren’t surprised to find that the the place is packed full of drunk college kids at two thirty in the morning on a Thursday night. The Theta Thirsty Thursday party just a couple of houses from the Haus probably got shut down just half an hour ago.

They both end up getting two orders of the twenty piece chicken nuggets, large fries and a large soda and end up sitting at the far corner with their legs tangled together, ankles linked under the table. They ignore the loud guffaws of drunk frat boys and sorority girls trying to sober up, their eyes only on each other as they struggle to wolf down all the food they ordered. Nursey talks about his final poetry paper, Dex talks about his computer science final, both gossip about Chris and Caitlin and Eric and Jack. Derek wipes ketchup off the corner of Will’s mouth, causing his skin to turn as red as the french fry condiment.

They head back to into the dark Haus, hands laced together as they sneak their way up the stairs and back into their rooms. They get ready to go to bed, but Will stays up a little later to get some last minute studying until he’s reached his capacity to think.

Instead crawling at the top bunk where he usually sleeps, Will makes his way over to Derek’s bed and crawls in. Immediately he is engulfed in strong, muscular arms, his head finding a resting spot on Derek’s bare chest.

Just like ocean waves and wandering fingertips, Will focuses on the steady rise and fall of his chest to help him go to sleep. He’s just about to slip into slumber before he feels Derek’s voice vibrating from his chest.

“Dex.”

“Hmm,” he huffs a bit. He was just about to fall asleep, damn it.

“I’m exhausted right now and I can’t keep my eyes open, but do you want to talk about this tomorrow? About us?”

Will’s stomach does a little flip at the word “us.” As a response he buries himself further into Derek’s embrace, his arms tightening around his waist and his face rubbing against his collar.

“Definitely,” Will says. “I’m exhausted too; please let me sleep.”

The last thing he remembers before falling asleep is a small kiss at the top of his head, leaving behind an imprint of a smile and the smell of faded nicotine and saltwater.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @ zimmboners on tumblr :)


End file.
